


Heat Rises

by ohmytheon



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin
Genre: (well mostly), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Everybody Lives, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-06-11
Updated: 2014-06-11
Packaged: 2018-02-04 05:16:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,188
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1766857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmytheon/pseuds/ohmytheon
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Winterfell is certainly colder than what Ashara was used to in Dorne, but her heart has never felt warmer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heat Rises

When the news of her betrothal came about, her brother Arthur had teased her saying that it was a good thing that her blood ran so hot; otherwise she would have been liked to freeze in the cold tundra that was the North. She’d swatted at him, her hand slapping against his armor, and told him to stop being so mean. He’d just laughed as he sauntered away.

The truth was that she had been terrified. What little she knew of the North was enough to put on her edge. But it wasn’t about going away to live in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people that made her nervous. The only reason she felt any sort of nerves was because going North would mean leaving Elia in the South – and not the safe part of the South either. They were no longer in Dorne. She missed it every day – the almost unbearable heat of the sun, the heat of their spices, the heat of their alcohol, the heat of the sand under her bare feet. Even when she had been in King’s Landing, she had felt too far North.

Fast forward years later, and she was farther North than she’d ever dreamed of being.

However as cold as it was here though, Ashara could not deny that it had a warmth that many places in Westeros lacked, even Dorne at times.

The first time she’d traveled to Winterfell, she’d been scared, though she would never admit it. Her fear had had nothing to do with the people or the family that she was leaving behind. It had nothing to do with being so far from home. It was silly, but she’d been afraid of the snow at first. She’d never seen snow and its cold had stung her more than anything. She couldn’t help but remember all the times she had run around outside barefoot and thought of how her future children would never have that luxury here.

(And then she had to shake her head because she, Ashara Dayne, was already thinking about her future children and she would always laugh about the thought of her having children while Elia was pregnant.)

Of course, the godswood was her favorite place. Some people might find that strange, especially considering that Dorne did not hold to the religion of the Old Gods. It was the hot springs and the colors. She loved the vibrant red of the leaves and even the sap of the weirwood trees with those solemn carved faces in the white bark. She adored the smell of the pine and the steam that came from the water. Here, she could strip down and soak in the hot springs and though this was as North as it was, it were here where she felt most at home as if she was in the South.

It was also in the godswood where her husband found her.

“I should have known that you would be here.”

Ashara did not open her eyes to look at the man, but she smiled upon hearing his voice. It was low and deep and reminded her of the woods that surrounded Winterfell. “Why do you even bother searching elsewhere when you need me?”

“Because I am a fool.”

“A handsome fool, nonetheless.” Ashara opened her eyes and titled her head up so that she could see him. Eddard Stark was young still, on in his twenties, but there were days when he seemed old as her father. She knew that he had been through much. Losing his father, his older brother, and his younger sister in a matter of months… It could have been much worse, she always reasoned. He had nearly been killed (or killed) her brother Arthur. By all rights, one or the other should have been dead, but perhaps it had been their love for another that had stayed their swords in the end. “What troubles you, my lord?”

Ned sighed and sat down at the edge of the hot springs next to her. He was still fully clothed and did not seem so eager to jump into the water as she did, though she was certain that he’d done it many times growing up and had done so with her before. (It was her favorite place to lie with him, truth be told, and she always felt so giddy and exhilarated when she was able to convince him to join her.) “The tournament at Casterly Rock.”

At this, Ashara almost laughed. “It is another moon’s turn before the tournament and you’re already worried? I’d hate to see what you’ll look like on the day when your turn is up.”

“It’s not that – I’m not worried – I just–” Ned frowned at himself, like he was angry at his tongue for not being able to keep up with his thoughts. “I’m not very fond of tournaments and feasts anyways. Those were more of Robert’s thing, more of…Brandon’s. I’ve not…I’ve not even been to one since Harrenhall.”

Her heart panged and dropped into her stomach. Harrenhall had been difficult for everyone involved. That was when she had realized that she would love Ned; and it had terrified her. It had also been when Elia had been forced to come to terms that her husband, Prince Rhaegar, would never love her in return. Rhaegar giving Lyanna Stark the crown of Queen of Love and Beauty had been a reckoning for so many people, not just Elia. It was then when Ashara had known that things were going to change, that dark times were ahead of them. She could still remember Ned’s face that night, hidden in the shadows of his hands, the worried lines in his eyes as he glanced back in the direction of his sister wearing the crown. She remembered how afraid he had been and how that had not fit him at all. No, tournaments were not his thing.

Ashara reached out and grasped his hand, not caring that hers were wet and soft and his were dry and rough. “This will be different. I promise you. I will be there at your side.”

“You were at Harrenhall too,” Ned reminded her.

She gave him a grin. “This time we won’t have to sneak around and I won’t have to goad you into being with you. You won’t feel so guilty about wounding my honor.”

“You were so wily,” Ned said, a hint of a smile on his face. “I was so…naïve.”

“In truth, I felt as if I was the one staining your honor.”

Ned shook his head as she laughed and leaned down to kiss her. She deepened the kiss on instinct, careful to make sure that he didn’t lean too far in, lest he fall into the water with her anyways. When they parted, he kept his forehead against hers. “Maybe we could still sneak around,” he told her, “you know, for old time’s sake.”

“Mm, you are much more charming than anyone gives you credit for, Eddard Stark,” Ashara murmured, feeling warmer than she ever could have felt when she was in Dorne.


End file.
